James' Little Brother
by I-Don't-Know-Who97
Summary: Harry is hit by a curse durring Molly and Bellatrix's duel in DH. What happens when he is thrown into the past in a deaged body and lands on the grounds of Potter Mannor, right in front of his fifteen year old father?
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Harry Potter**

Chapter 1 Times Change

Harry Potter was dueling with Lord Voldemort in the middle of the great hall. Voldemort was infuriated by Molly Weasley killing Bellatrix. Bellatrix had gotten in a lucky shot that hit Harry while the two women were fighting, but so far there had been no ill effects.

Harry's wand slashed, twirled, and preformed almost any other movement you could think of while he was dueling Voldemort. Finally Voldemort went too far; he tried to cast the killing curse at Harry with a wand that thought of Harry at its' master. The killing curse rebounded on Voldemort, and he died. That was all Harry saw before everything around him changed.

'This must be the effects of whatever Bellatrix hit me with,' he thought. The world seemed to fade around him until it was only rushing colors and fast backwards movement.

Suddenly the world began to reform into a place Harry had never been before.

"What's she done _now_," he complained. "Is it too much to ask for all the evil Death Eaters and especially Voldemort and Bellatrix to leave me alone?" he looked around and noticed for the first time that, a,) he was a lot smaller, and b.) teenage versions of his father and godfather, and Remus Lupin were staring at him.

'Of _course_ Bellatrix would send me into the past in a de-aged body. That's _exactly_ her style; spastic and random,' Harry thought.

Harry muttered out loud without thinking. "That woman is totally mental," he said. "What did she do now? I _really_ don't think there's a way to fix this. Let's just go with it," still muttering to low for any of the boys to hear him. Sirius and Remus caught snatches of what he said, but not enough to get anything out of it.

James walked up to him. "Hello little one," he said, crouching to Harry's level. "Who are you?"

"Harry Potter," Harry said clearly. James' eyes widened. Sirius and Remus just stared at the boy who was a carbon copy of James except for the eyes and a lightening-bolt scar on his forehead.

"I think we'd better take him to Mum," James said, looking at his adopted brothers. "She'll probably know what to do." The two boys nodded, and James picked Harry up.

"Hey!" Harry cried indignantly. He was far too old to be carried at nearly eighteen, and even the way he was now (he appeared to be around ten or eleven) he was too big. "Put me down!"

Sirius laughed. "Sorry kiddo, but we have a bit of a walk, and you're kind of small to be walking it by yourself. How old are you, six, nearly seven?"

Harry huffed indignantly again. "I'll have you know that I am nearly eleven," he said a tad angrily.

"No way!" Sirius cried in surprise. "Even I wasn't that small at eleven."

Harry gave him a look. "It helps growing if you have enough food."

"Why didn't you?" Sirius asked.

"I'll explain everything once we get back to the house," Harry told them. "I know you don't trust me, but I swear on my magic and life that I would never lead Death Eaters to your house or hurt the Potter family in any way. That doesn't include Peter." Harry had learned that this was a very solemn oath because if you broke it you might actually loose your magic. James seemed to think this was good enough because he continued to carry Harry towards his house.

"Will you _please_ put me down?" Harry pleaded.

James grinned evilly. "Nope," he said happily. "I don't care if you're six, eleven, or eighteen; you won't be able to keep up on your own, so I'm going to carry you." Harry moaned, but resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to be put down anytime soon.

Harry was _very_ tired from the battle with Voldemort (and the fact that he hadn't slept properly in three days) and even the pain of all the injuries he had wasn't enough to keep him awake. He found his head slowly drifting down onto James' shoulder. The last thing he knew before he fell asleep was James rubbing his back comfortingly.

**How was the start? I really like this story for some reason. I just popped into my head and stuck there one day, so I started writing it. All the chapters after this are longer. This was kind of like a prologue, so I felt ok making it short. Feedback would be appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2 Meeting the Potters

**I don't own Harry Potter**

Chapter 2 Meeting Mum

James Potter was very confused. His day had started out pleasant and normal. He and his adopted brothers Sirius and Remus had made trouble until their mother had told them to stay out of the house for the rest of the day. This was something that happened quite regularly, and she knew they would be back in time for lunch.

That was where the normalness of the day ended. The three of them had been fooling around at the bounds of the property when there was a loud 'BANG!' and a little boy fell out of thin air. This was very strange because only those with Potter blood could get through the wards without having one of the Potters with them. The boy had muttered to himself until James had gone over to try and figure out who this mysterious child was. James was stunned when he crouched down to find himself looking at a carbon copy of himself!

They had decided they should take the child to meet their mother, seeing as he claimed to be a Potter, and he was still a very small child. James had scooped the child into his arms, (which the child instantly protested against, saying that he was much too old to be carried) and they started back to the house.

The kid had refused to say anything about himself except that he hadn't gotten enough food when he was young. Harry was _tiny_ for an eleven-year-old.

James rubbed the Harry's back in a comforting way until the poor kid fell asleep. James felt oddly protective of Harry. He didn't know why he felt that way though. He just thought Harry was something precious that should be treated with utmost care. He didn't feel that way about other little kids so it didn't make sense that he felt that way for Harry, but he figured it was because the kid claimed to be related to him.

Once they arrived back at the house he motioned for Remus to get the door because he didn't want to risk dropping Harry trying to get it open himself, or waking him by talking out loud. He cradled the child close, one hand holding the back of Harry's head to his shoulder, and the other around Harry's waist so he wouldn't drop him.

Once the door was open the three of them trooped into the house.

"James!" his mother Elisabeth cried angrily. "I told you to stay outside until I called you in for lunch! It's hardly even been a half an hour and-" Sirius put a hand over her mouth which was (in James' mind anyway) a very dangerous thing to do.

"Shhhh!" Sirius hissed. "We found a kid and he's sleeping, so be quiet!"

"No I'm not," Harry said sleepily, lifting his head from James' shoulder. "Where are we?"

"Oh dear," Elisabeth said, softening instantly and going into mother mode. "Put him down on the couch James, I'll undo the glamories."

"Hey!" Harry cried. "I like the glamories just fine the way they are thanks!"

"Don't be silly dear I need to know what's wrong with you. Who are your parents?"

"Um…" Harry said, looking a little blank. He was actually trying to come up with a suitable lie, but obviously didn't think fast enough.

"I have an easier way," Elisabeth said. "It's a spell I learned that will show your family tree."

Harry looked panicked. "I don't think that's such a good-" Too late.

**Harold James Potter**

**Father: James Harold Potter**

**Mother: Lily Marie Potter nee Evans**

**Grandfather: ****Charles Franklin Potter**

**Grandmother: Elisabeth Jade Potter nee Meadows**

"I didn't know I was related to Neville!" Harry cried. He covered his mouth, but everyone had already heard.

"James?" Elisabeth said softly. "What do you know about this?"

"Nothing!" James cried. "We were just playing around on the grounds when he popped out of nowhere!"

"Dang Bellatrix," Harry muttered.

"You've met my _darling_ cousin?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Had the pleasure of watching her die," Harry said spitefully. "I'm from the future, obviously. She hit me with some kind of spell that shrunk me to this size and sent me back in time."

"What'd you do to make her _that_ mad?" Sirius asked, impressed.

"Got hit by a stray spell when she was dueling with Molly Weasley. Couldn't have been happier when Mrs. Weasley hit _darling_ Bella."

"How old are you truly?" James asked, eager to get to know his son while he could. He knew he would probably know said son very well in the future, but he wanted to know now.

"Seventeen," Harry said glaring at him. "I told you you didn't need to carry me."

James smirked. "I obviously did as you feel asleep on me. And besides, like I said, I wouldn't have cared if you were six, eleven, or eighteen, you couldn't have kept up on your own."

Harry pouted. "Not my fault I haven't gotten a nights rest in three days."

"As much as I would _love_ to continue this very enlightening discussion, I think Harry needs to get whatever injuries he has treated."

"I'm _fine_," Harry said. It was an automatic reaction to anyone asking if he was injured. He didn't want to worry anyone.

"I'll be the judge of _that_," Elisabeth said primly. "If you're _anything_ like James your definition of 'fine' means you're not about to die. Honestly, I think he could be under the cruciatus and he would try to tell me he's fine in between screams!"

Harry blushed and ducked his head. "You haven't been under it have you?" Remus asked randomly.

"N-no, why would you think I was," Harry stuttered.

"You have been, haven't you?" asked Sirius.

Harry sagged. "Maybe," he said.

"Good Lord!" Elisabeth cried. "Why in heaven's name were you under _that_!"

"Voldemort took a rather….strong…..dislike….to me," Harry said, struggling to find the correct words.

Everyone looked like they wanted to say more, but they were interrupted by the fire flaring and a figure toppling out of it.

"Elisa get the boys in here now! There's been a break in the wards and I don't know if it's dangerous yet!"

"Too late!" James laughed. "We found 'the disturbance' already."

"What! Where!" A man who looked extraordinarily like Harry and James ran into the room. He stopped short at the sight of Harry (who still had his family tree shining over his head) sitting on the couch with the rest of the family surrounding him.

"Um… this is really awkward, and I have no idea what one is supposed to say in this type of situation, so I'm just going to go with… Hello, how are you," Harry said.

His grandfather stared at him incredulously for a second, before saying, "Yep; definitely James'," and walking over to them.

"Oi! He only said one thing! How can you already tell he's mine!" James cried.

"Well for one thing he looks exactly like you, for another he's got his family tree floating over his head, and finally (and the most revealing of all) only you would say that type of thing in this type of situation," his father answered him. "Now, would anyone care to explain to me why I've got a grandson who's about seven when I didn't even have a grandson at all when I left this morning?"

"I'm _**not **_seven!" Harry cried angrily.

"You _are_ extremely injured, and I need you to _sit still_ so I can find out what's wrong with you and start to heal it," Elisabeth said.

"I told you you were small," Sirius couldn't help but add.

"Lay off Sirius," James said. The protective feelings he had for Harry hadn't gone away by any means. If anything they had gotten bigger.

"Ok, Harry can you just explain this to me?" Charles asked.

Harry looked at his grandfather and started to explain. "Sirius' mad cousin was having a death duel with Molly Weasley when I got hit by a stray spell. It didn't do anything for awhile, but then it threw me back in time and deaged me," Harry explained.

"Why were you close enough to people having a death duel to be hit by a stray spell?" James asked.

"I was _supposed_ to be dead, but I wasn't and I didn't want people to know that, so I put on the old cloak and snuck out. There're only so many places you can move in a crowded hall while your wear an invisibility cloak," Harry told him.

"I am _sooooo_ confused right now," Sirius said in a conversational tone.

Harry was starting to feel overwhelmed. He hadn't slept in three days (if you didn't count the brief nap he had when James was carrying him to the house) and all his injuries were starting to catch up to him. James saw this and was instantly concerned. He would question his son (did that _ever_ feel weird to say) later, right now the child obviously needed sleep.

"Lay off. There's nothing he can tell you now that he can't tell you tomorrow," James said. "He needs to be healed and then go to sleep." James' parents looked at him with pride. It wasn't often that James showed that he could be mature, but it seemed that when it came to Harry James already considered the boy his son and would treat him that way.

James was unable to resist the adorable sleepy look that Harry had. He had known the boy for not even half an hour, and Harry already had James wrapped around his tiny fingers.

He picked Harry up (ignoring the boy's feeble protests) and sat down on the couch before placing Harry in his lap. Harry soon stopped protesting to yawn and borrow into his father's chest before giving in to sleep.

"He's adorable!" Elisabeth whisper-squealed. "I can't wait until he's actually born!"

"You should probably undo the glamours while he's sleeping. He's not going to let you take them down if he's awake," James whispered. "All Potters are stubborn," he added to the odd looks he was getting, "he didn't want you to take them off earlier, so it'd be better to do it while he's asleep then have to fight him about it after he wakes up."

"Very good point," Remus said, looking impressed.

Elisa said a spell and Harry's glamories dropped. He shrunk even more, and he got thinner. Bruises, cuts, and burns showed all over him. He wasn't in good shape at all.

James was livid and wondered what his future self had allowed his son to go through. Harry was just barely of age after all; his father would still have a lot of authority in his life. James was even willing to bet that Harry was still in school!

"I can't heal him while he's asleep. Most times healing stings a bit at the _very_ least, and that would wake him. He needs sleep as much as he needs to be healed. Let's wait until he wakes back up," Elisa whispered.

But Harry didn't wake back up that whole day or the night that followed. James held him for most of that time, talking a little with Sirius and Remus, but mostly just marveling at the tiny child he held. Remus seemed to like this occupation just fine, and even _Sirius _(who normally wouldn't sit still if you paid him to) seemed to find sitting there staring at Harry the most intriguing thing he had ever done.

The three of them only left Harry to eat dinner. When it was time for bed James easily carried Harry upstairs. He then realized he had forgotten to ask his parents to conjure an extra bed in their room. Sirius and Remus could've had their own rooms when they moved in, but the marauders wanted to be together. James shrugged and laid Harry down on his own bed. He found an old pair of his pajamas and changed Harry into them. It was scary, how tiny Harry was. James knew he would have to ask his son about that.

Once he had finished changing Harry and had changed himself he climbed into the bed next to Harry. Harry unconsciously snuggled into James, hiding his face in his father's chest. James smiled softly and wrapped his arms around his son. Remus and Sirius smiled gently. Everything was peaceful and perfect.

**I think this one was longer then the last one. I'm sorry I didn't put this in earlier, but I don't like Molly, Ron, Ginny, or Dumbledore. There will bashing of Dumbledore in the next chapter and the smallest bit of Ginny bashing. Sorry if you don't like that.**


	3. Chapter 3 Discoveries

**I don't own Harry Potter and never will. In case I forget later it goes for the whole rest of the story too.**

Chapter 3 Discoveries

Harry woke up snuggled into something large and warm. This was not something he was used to at all. He sat up quickly and almost fell off the bed. James (the large, warm thing he had been snuggled up to) sat up so quickly that he _did_ fall off the bed.

He landed on the floor with a '_THUM!'_ that woke Sirius and Remus.

"Morning," he yawned from the floor. He had taken all the blankets with him when he fell and Harry shivered at the sudden loss of warmth. Sirius and Remus laughed at James. Harry sneezed and shivered a little more violently. He hoped he wasn't getting a cold. It was then that the three of them seemed to remember Harry.

James detangled himself from the blankets as fast as he could and shot to his feet.

"Morning Harry! How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Fine," Harry said somewhat drowsily.

James plopped himself back down on his bed. "That's great! Now if we could have the truth it would be even better!" he cried.

Harry blushed. "Sorry, it's kind of a reflex," Harry said. He looked down at himself. "Hey, who took off my glamories!" he cried, skillfully turning attention away from how he was feeling. James caught this but decided not to pursue it.

"Mum did," James answered, "we decided it would be easier for all of us if we removed them while you were sleeping rather then fight about it when you woke up."

"True," Harry agreed reluctantly.

"Let's go have breakfast, and then Mum will heal you," Sirius added, "she couldn't do it before because it would've woken you up."

"I know it would've. There's nothing wrong with me that's life threatening anyway."

"How would you know?" Remus asked suspiciously.

"I know life threatening when I feel it, and none of this is life threatening," Harry answered.

'What's your definition of life threatening?" James asked. "Give us a few examples."

"Let's see, hanging off a broom by one hand while your eighty feet in the air because your teacher jinxed your broom to buck you off, dodging a twelve foot mountain troll's club because you ran into one trying to warn a girl that said troll had broken into the school, running into a giant three headed dog that looks like it wants to bite you in half-"

"Ok, ok, we get it," James laughed. "We were thinking something a little more realistic though. Harry blinked. He had actually been trying to remember all the situations he had been in where he nearly died. Oh well, it was probably better if his Father (who he was quickly learning was going to be overprotective) didn't know how many times he had nearly died.

"Boys! Breakfast is ready!" Elisa yelled from downstairs. Remus and Sirius were out the door and half way down the stairs before she had even finished her sentence. James paused only long enough to scoop Harry into his arms before following. Harry held tight to James to keep from falling.

When they arrived in the kitchen they were greeted by a surprise; Albus Dumbledore, in flesh and blood, was standing in the middle of the room. Harry shrank closer to James, grabbing his Father's shirt in a tighter hold. This was the man responsible for so many crimes against him. Nearly _all_ his pain and suffering stemmed from the man in front of him.

James tightened his hold on Harry; it seemed he didn't like Dumbledore very much either.

"Ah, hello James. And this must be Harry," Dumbledore said. Harry shrank even closer to his father.

"Hi," he mumbled.

"What you have managed to do is very powerful, Harry. In fact, I think Merlin himself was the only other person to ever accomplish it. Some people say that's how he got his wisdom, you know. By living multiple lives. Time travel of this magnitude is-" Dumbledore was about to go of on one of his long boring speeches. The purpose of these speeches was to get you to zone out and then say yes when asked a question to prove that you'd been paying attention.

"Can we skip the long boring speech and get to the reason you're here?" James asked rather rudely. Harry giggled (hey, he was little again, he was allowed to giggle) but Charles and Elisabeth gasped.

"James! Don't be so rude!" Elisabeth scolded loudly.

"He's scaring Harry! Harry's probably never even seen him before!" James cried.

"Ah yes, you haven't been to Hogwarts yet have you Harry? How old are you four?" Dumbledore asked.

"I am _not_ four!" Harry cried indignantly.

"Five then," Dumbledore said. "I'm quite sorry to say that you will not be able to return to your own time."

"WHAT!" every person in the room yelled.

"Headmaster please, there has to be some way we can get Harry back to his time," Elisabeth pleaded.

"No, there isn't. I'm sorry to say that the only way to get Harry back to his time is to have him grow up again. He will grow at a normal rate until we reach the time he was conceived. At this time the body he is now inhabiting will die, and he will become nothing more then an unborn child in his mother's stomach. He will then be born again and will grow the natural way a second time."

"So I can't go home?" Harry asked unhappily. The time line Dumbledore had laid before him made him slightly sick. He resolved that he would have to do something about the whole 'being reborn' thing. He highly doubted Dumbledore had actually tried to find a way around being reborn. If Harry ended up not like Dumbledore then Harry being reborn would be a perfect opportunity for Dumbledore to influence Harry from a young age. He could easily have Harry in his pocket if he could get in the child's good graces at an early age.

"No Harry. I'm sorry but the best thing to do would probably be to stay here and pretend you are James' brother. Most wizarding children aren't introduced to the magical world until they're five anyway, so you won't need to think of a cover. With that said I will take my leave. Unless you need something else?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, that's all. Thank you Albus," Charles said.

Dumbledore nodded and walked over to the fire. "I look forward to seeing you at school boys," he said nodding to Sirius, James, and Remus. "Elisabeth, I was wondering if you would consider taking the position of muggle studies teacher. I do not need your answer now. Take time to think this over. Charles, I am very grateful that you will take time off being an auror to teach DADA. I will see you all soon." And with that he went through the fire.

Harry wiggled and James set him down.

"James," Elisabeth cried, turning on her son, "I've told you before about being rude to Professor Dumbledore!"

"I don't trust him mother," James said. Harry was proud that his father had that much common sense. Honestly people should warn their children against manipulative old men, not praise them as much as they praised Dumbledore.

"You have absolutely no reason to feel that way about him! He's never done anything to you and probably never will!" Elisabeth continued angrily.

Harry grabbed James' hand in a tight grip. "Dad's right," he said softly. "Dumbledore is the last person in the world that I would trust. Well, that doesn't include Voldemort and his Death Eaters, but that's about it. I would actually trust a few Death Eaters over him," he added, thinking of Narcissa Malfroy.

Charles and Elisabeth stared at him. "I know you have the right to feel any way you choose about Dumbledore, but did you really have to teach your son to feel the same way?" Charles asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He didn't teach me anything about Dumbledore. By the time he's grown and married Dumbledore has Dad under his thumb. I don't even think it was Dad's choice. I actually suspect compulsion and trust charms and potions were administered daily to keep him under. Dumbledore is nothing but a manipulative old man who cares for nothing and no one more then himself," Harry said firmly. He really believed the only reason Dumbledore was on the light side was because he could make himself look like a hero that way. All the people loved, and he held almost all the political power in the country. He had been right about himself; power was his weakness.

"Harry those are some pretty strong accusations. Are you sure that's what really happened? Maybe you're just mistaken," Elisabeth said softly.

"I know what I'm talking about," Harry said. "I may look like a five-year-old, but I'm really seventeen." At which point he realized Dumbledore didn't know this. This was certainly going to be fun. "Trust in Dumbledore has almost gotten me killed several times. And that isn't even counting the time he deliberately sent me into a situation that he was positive I wouldn't make it out of alive." There were sharp intakes of breath throughout the room. If Dumbledore had done _anything _(even something as small as asking Harry to do something that had resulted in Harry getting a bruise) to Harry he had better watch out; he would now have to deal with Harry's family.

"Well," Elisabeth said finally, unsure what she should do with this information, "we should have breakfast so I can heal Harry."

Everyone turned to the table. Harry found himself picked up and set back down on his Father's lap. He wasn't going to object; it was comfortable, and Harry was still tired. It seemed his small body took more time to recuperate from being kept up for three days straight and essentially dieing.

Harry went to fill his plate and got a surprise when he turned his attention to his stomach and realized he was not hungry at all. He thought back to when he really was around the age eleven and realized he would be used to eating about once a week. Three days was _not_ a long time to go without eating for him. He sometimes thought it was only his magic that kept him alive during his years at the Dursley's; he was sure he would've starved to death long ago if he hadn't been a wizard.

Harry grabbed a piece of bacon and nibbled it a bit. He _really_ wasn't hungry. The bacon tasted rich and heavy, he normally was only allowed toast when he was younger.

Harry fell deep into his thoughts, forgetting about the bacon in the process. He thought about Ron and Hermione, who he would probably never see again. He thought about Ginny, who Ron told him had been cheating on him ever since they had first started going out. This had really hurt as he had been planning to marry her someday. He thought of the rest of the Weasley family who were all closer then just friends.

Harry looked up when he felt eyes on him. "Are you going to eat anymore?" Sirius asked in a worried voice. Harry shook his head. "But you hardly ate anything!' Sirius exclaimed in surprise.

"I was always a light eater," Harry said softly.

"Well, as long as you're done we should probably see what's wrong with you and try to fix it," Elisabeth said. She would deal with whatever problems Harry had with eating later; right now the most important thing was to heal him. The family moved to the living room and James put Harry down on the couch he had sat on the day before.

Elisabeth took several diagnostic spells on her grandson. Several pages of results came spewing out of her wand tip. The results made her gasp in horror. "But…but….you should be dead!" she cried.

Harry closed his eyes as everyone else went deathly pale. "Please tell me you didn't do one that would show any injury I ever had in my entire life," he pleaded.

"She always does that to new patients," James said shakily. He picked Harry up again and sat down on the couch before placing Harry on his lap. Harry was beginning to get the feeling that his father was never going to get enough of having Harry in his arms.

"That's not all she does though," Remus added. "She makes lists that tell what creatures you've been in contact with and what spells you've been hit with too."

Harry groaned. "Great, she's probably gone into shock then."

"You can't have been in contact with _that_ many bad things," James said, "after all she's seen _my_ medical record; she's probably prepared for anything."

"His record is a hundred times worse then yours," Elisabeth said shakily, "I didn't even think that was possible until today. You mind telling me how you survived the killing curse not once, but twice?" Harry winced as gasps of horror went around the room.

"You did what!" James asked as he hugged Harry almost too tightly. "Why did I let you get into a position where that curse could be shot at you?"

"You didn't have a choice," Harry said grimly. "I'm pretty sure Dumbledore was mostly responsible both times, though I don't place the blame entirely on him. There are a few others who deserve special mention too."

"Does this have anything to do with why you don't like Peter?" Sirius asked.

"How did you know he didn't like Peter?" Charles asked.

"Because when he gave us his oath that he wouldn't hurt anyone in the Potter family he didn't include Peter," Sirius said as though this should be obvious.

"Yes, it actually has almost everything to do with Peter. I don't want to have to tell this story more than once. If there's anyone else you want to hear it then you should get them now.

James hesitated for a second. "Your mother deserves to know as much as I do. I know where she lives, we could take you there."

"Wouldn't it be considered rude to just pop up at their house without invitation?" Charles asked.

"We could pop up at their house and invite them here," James suggested.

"Good idea!" Sirius cried. "I hope she doesn't try to slap you this time James." James rolled his eyes.

Elisabeth quickly healed up Harry's injuries. She clucked over his broken arm and sprained ankle ("Thank goodness James seems to like carrying you!").She nearly shrieked over the after effects of the cruciatius (sp?) and malnutrition. But in the end she returned him to James for the traveling time.

**A few people are angry that I don't like Ginny. I don't really dislike Ginny in general, just that she got with Harry. I had to think of a reason she wouldn't be with Harry in the end. Hence, the cheating. In my opinion she never really stopped being a rabid fangirl. Sure, she toned it down around Harry, but that about it. She only stopped around Harry because Hermione told her to stop being so shy around him. She dated other guys to get him jealous. I don't think that's right, and I don't like that she got what she wanted in the end.**

**This is the longest chapter so far. Sorry to Dumbledore lovers, but I did warn you. I'm getting a beta soon, and she wants to go back over the chapters I've already written, so there will be minor changes in the story. Most of them will be in grammar and spelling. **

**Thank you to all the people that reviewed. Someone asked it this was going to be a slash story, and I wanted to know what you guys think about that. The idea appeals to me, but I want your opinions too. If it is going to be slash it won't be for a long time. Harry **_**is**_** only five right now after all.**


	4. Chapter 4 Meeting Mum and Telling the Tr

Chapter 4 Meeting Mum and Telling the Truth

Elisabeth and Charles apparated the whole family to right outside Lily's house. James held Harry while they apperated.

"I hate apperating," Harry mumbled, relaxing into his father's chest.

He finally looked up at their surroundings and was stunned to see that they were at Privet Drive! He whimpered and drew even closer to James.

"What's the matter?" James asked quietly.

"I have really, really, _really_ bad memories from this place. I had thought I finally left it behind forever," Harry said back. "Can we get this over with as fast as we can please?"

James immediately walked up to the front door of number four and knocked quite loudly.

"I would've thought you would take a moment to try and touch up a bit James," Sirius teased.

"Harry doesn't like it here," James told him, "says it brings back bad memories." Sirius understood instantly. If it made Harry uncomfortable then it had to go.

Petunia Evans opened the door. Harry almost whimpered again and buried his face in his father's shirt.

"Who are you?" Petunia asked rather rudely.

"We know Lily from school. I had something that I kind of needed to talk to her about, could we please see her?" James said politely.

"Go on to the living room. Don't expect _me_ to show you the way; I don't want to get too close to your freakiness," Petunia responded.

"What an awful girl," James muttered under his breath.

"It's fine. Just ignore her. The living room is that way," Harry muttered back. He led James through the house to the living room, shuddering violently as they passed the cupboard under the stairs. James was concerned, Harry was shaking horribly. He didn't think Harry could be in this house for much longer without something happening.

Memories came at Harry from all sides as he made his way through the house. Memories from every year he had lived in this house. Awful memories of a life full of abuse. He hadn't even realized he had been abused until this day. He had know he had been neglected, but looking back at all the slaps, punches, kicks, frying pans to the head, and God knows what else he had taken, he realized that there was no way around the fact the he most certainly _had_ been abused. He barely had enough concentration to lead his father through the house.

When they made it to the living room they heard Petunia muttering about freakishness under her breath before yelling up the stairs.

"Lily! Some of your freak friends are here!"

"What's her problem?" Remus asked. He was normally the polite one so that drew some odd looks.

"She doesn't like magic," Harry muttered. "She was jealous that Mum got magic and she didn't, so she decided to hate everything to do with it."

"She's awful," James muttered into Harry's hair. This comment was lost on his son who was trying to push the memories away. He wanted the _anywhere_ but in his head.

"What's wrong Pet?" Vernon Dursley asked, poking his head into the living room.

"Nothing, darling!" Petunia called happily. "Just some of my sister's freak friends."

"Petunia, how many times do we have to tell you that your sister isn't a freak! She is simply gifted in more ways then most people," a woman asked as she walked into the room. "I apologize for her," she added a little stiffly to the Potters. "I don't think we've met. My name is Rose Evans and this is my husband Brian." They shook hands.

"It-it's quite alright," Elisabeth said, in partial shock. She had never met anyone so unpleasant. "I am Elisabeth Potter, this is my husband Charles, my son James, and his adopted brothers Sirius and Remus."

"Do please sit down," Brian added. "We've heard quite a lot about your boys from Lily."

"Please tell me there was at least one good comment about at least one of them?" Charles half begged.

Brian chuckled. "I think there might've been one or two about Remus," he said weakly. Lily walked into the room at that moment.

"What are you doing here Potter?" she asked in a nasty voice as she paused in the door way. "If you've come to try and convince me that child is mine too then you've made a few mistakes. One, we have never done _anything_ together, two, he is far too old, and three, he doesn't look anything like me. I know you're vain, but surely you know that a child inherits genes from _both_ parents."

"Wow, she got it in one James. I think she's finally getting to know you better," Sirius said teasingly.

"This isn't something to play around with Sirius. He's a real person you know, not just something I transfigured with my wand and charmed to move," James said.

"Sorry," Sirius said softly.

"I don't believe you Potter," Lily said in disgust. "If you think for one second-" her sentence cut off abruptly as she finally caught a glimpse of Harry's eyes.

Harry, on the other hand finally managed to get the memories out of his head. Literally. Life sized images from different parts of his life popped up all throughout the house.

"I didn't mean to do that," he said softly. "I wanted them out of my head, but not literally."

"Nice," Sirius smirked. "What are they?"

"Scenes from my life," Harry said softly. "I don't know how to get them to start playing though."

"You spent a lot of time here," Brian observed.

Harry winced. "I lived here," he said.

"Who _are_ you?" Lily asked.

"Harry was sent here yesterday from the future," Charles answered for Harry. "He is your son. He also happens to be James' son."

"How do I know this isn't a trick?" Lily asked.

"I can do a spell that will show a person's family tree," Elisabeth offered.

"Ok," Lily agreed. Seconds later Harry's family tree was floating above his head again.

"So I do fall for him? What kind of idiotic thing happened for that to be true?" Lily groaned. "Where was Severus to keep me grounded?"

Harry stiffened. "He called you a mudblood at the end of fifth year. He said he was sorry and he didn't mean it, but you wouldn't forgive him. He didn't like me," the last bit was rather unnecessary.

"He…he….he didn't really do that, did he?" Lily asked in a nearly broken voice.

"He did. It was one of his worst memories. I saw it in a pensive once," Harry added.

"Well," Lily said with determination, "he hasn't done it yet, so I won't hold it against him."

"Why did you live here?" Rose asked with curiosity. "Brian and I were going to leave the house to Petunia."

"You did," Harry said with a slight shudder.

"Then why did you grow up here?" James asked, hugging Harry closer, whether for Harry's comfort or his own he didn't know.

Harry stared into space for a moment. "I was only one, but I still remember it. Before it was just a lot of green light, but then I got the whole memory from _him_," his voice was as vacant as his eyes, it looked like he was reliving horrible things.

Everyone in the room stiffened. They all knew what green light meant.

"It was just a normal family night. It was Halloween of 81. We were in hiding, we used the fedlius charm too. Peter was the secret keeper, but you told everyone it was Sirius. You thought it would be the perfect distraction; Voldemort would go after Sirius, but Sirius would never be able to tell. You never even told Remus. Everyone knew there was a traitor near the Potters and had been for a year. Information was being leaked. You all thought it was most likely Remus, because it wasn't Sirius, and Peter wouldn't have the guts to go to Voldemort. You were wrong."

"Dad and I were in the living room. He was making different colored puffs of smoke come out of his wand, and I was chasing them. Mum wasn't in the room, I don't know where she was. She came in and took me up to bed. The door was blasted open seconds later. Dad ran into the entrance; he didn't even have his wand."

James wondered how he could be stupid enough to leave his wand laying around, he never let it leave his side now.

"He yelled to Mum to take me and run, that he would hold Voldemort off, but Voldemort killed him. He…he didn't even have a wand." The last part was in a whisper.

Lily moved over and sat down on the couch next to James (who was still holding Harry). She knew she was probably going to be next. Judging by the looks on everyone else's face they were too stunned and horrified to comprehend that though. Except James. He seemed rather clam for being told he was going to die in six years.

"He went upstairs then. He was laughing." Harry shuddered. "Mum was screaming, she had heard Dad say to leave, but she was trapped upstairs. She tried to barricade the door, but she didn't have her wand either."

Lily looked startled.

"Voldemort blasted the door open easily. Mum dropped me in the crib and turned to face him. She begged, _pleaded_ for my life, even at the coast of hers. 'Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry! Please, I'll do anything!' she screamed. 'Stand aside silly girl, stand aside!' was all he would say. When she wouldn't move he killed her anyways. I can still hear her screams, she was much closer to me so they're much clearer."

"I was next. He turned his wand on me and did the killing curse."

Lily shrieked at that. She was just now starting to accept that this boy was her son, but that didn't mean the idea of him dying didn't make her want to give a very girly, high pitched scream and faint. She snatched Harry from James rather more roughly then she normally would and hugged him a bit too tightly.

"You are not allowed to die!" she yelled a little hysterically.

Harry looked startled, but tried to reassure her. "It's ok," he said, patting her back rather awkwardly. It was a bit hard when she was practically strangling him. "I didn't die," he added unnecessarily.

Lily didn't really respond. James was also rather pale and seemed to need to touch part of Harry to reassure himself, as he was clinging almost painfully to Harry's hand.

"Why? Why didn't you die? Lily said there was no way to live through the killing curse. Hence, the name," Brain said, looking very pale and worried.

"Mum sacrificed herself for me. She gave her life for mine even though she didn't have to. Her sacrifice runs in my blood still," Harry answered softly.

Lily hugged him tightly. "I hope your life after that got a little calmer. I suppose you were sent to live with Black." She eyed him warily.

"Um…see, that's the thing. Everyone thought he was your secret keeper, meaning they thought he sold you out to Voldemort. That really wasn't helped by the fact that he went after _darling_ Peter. He cornered Peter in a street, but Peter shouted some," here Harry paused, this was normally where he swore, but two sets of grandparents and his parents probably wouldn't appreciate that, "nonsense about how Sirius betrayed them. He then blew up the street, cut off his own finger, transformed to his Animagus (which is a rat) and ran down into the sewer, which (in my opinion) is where he belonged." Everyone gapped at him.

"Wow, what happened to Sirius?" Remus asked worriedly.

Harry grimaced. "When Peter blew the street apart he killed twelve muggles. Eyewitnesses of the event said they saw Sirius do it. That really wasn't helped by the fact that Sirius started laughing hysterically when the aurors came to pick him up."

"What the heck Sirius?" James asked.

"It was perfectly understandable," Harry responded for Sirius. "He was in shock and he either had to laugh or burst out crying. Since Sirius doesn't like crying in front of people that was out, and all there was left to do was laugh."

"Oh," Sirius said. He didn't understand how this could've happened. He could grasp exactly what Harry was saying, but none of it really made sense in his brain. Peter a traitor? But Peter was so small and weak; so in need of protection. But if he thought the marauders couldn't protect him then he would certainly go to someone he thought could. Everyone else was reaching the same conclusion, except Rose and Brian because they didn't know Peter.

"Wait a second," James said, a smile blossoming, "that means we seceded in becoming Animagus'!"

Elisabeth and Charles suddenly got dangerous looks on their faces. "Very nice James. I think you just managed to reveal that we didn't do it the legal way,"  
>Sirius said.<p>

"What do you mean 'didn't do it the legal way'?" Charles asked in a barely controlled voice.

"Well….um…we…uh," James and Sirius stuttered.

"What they _mean_ is that they managed to accomplish full transformation sometime during their fifth year," Harry said more calmly then he felt. It was really hard to have to relive all this. "I think they spent the better part of third and forth years researching it too."

"Thanks Harry," Sirius said dryly.

"Well they were going to find out sometime," Harry protested. "Anyway, I think it was good that you did it. It certainly helped you, Sirius."

"Why did it help me?" Sirius asked in surprise.

"It helped you stay sane in Azkaban," Harry said flatly. "You told me the only reason you were still sane was because you knew you were innocent and when you were in dog form the dementors didn't have as bad of an effect."

Sirius' jaw dropped.

Harry grinned wickedly. "You looked like hell when you broke out though."

"What!" everyone cried.

"Isn't this prison supposed to be so secure that no one has ever broken out of it?" Rose asked.

"Sirius was the first," Harry confirmed.

"Very nice Sirius," James said in an impressed voice. "How did he manage that?"

"He changed into his dog form and swam to the main land," Harry said. "I think he nearly died in the attempt. That's a story from my third year though; we're skipping like twelve years."

"Where did you end up if it wasn't with Remus or Sirius then?" Lily asked. She was rather worried. She didn't have any super close friends, not like the marauders. Her closest friend was Alice Meadows, another Gryffindor in her year, but they weren't best friends or anything.

Harry winced. James' grip on his hand tightened, and everyone else (except Lily, who couldn't see his face) tensed.

"I went to live with my only living relatives at the time," Harry admitted. "Petunia and Vernon Dursley."

"Did you hear that Vernon! We get married!" Petunia squealed from the doorway. She turned and embraced the large man behind her. Harry, on the other hand, shrank away from both of them and closer to his mother.

"What were you doing there Petunia?" Lily asked. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"Of course not, why would I want to eavesdrop on a bunch of freaks?" Petunia answered. "No, I just wanted to say that there are pictures of the little freak all over the house. They look like they could move, and I don't want to be around if they do."

"That was my fault," Harry said softly, cuddling as close as he could get to his mother. Aunt Petunia looked rather like she used to (would?) when she swung frying pans at his head.

"Of course it was, only a little freak wouldn't have enough control to make sure no one else had to suffer from his freakiness," Petunia answered snidely.

Harry flinched back as she walked closer to him. James frowned and gently lifted Harry out of Lily's arms and into his own before wrapping an arm around her waist.

"It was an accident," Charles said, frowning at her. "Young children often have uncontrolled bursts of magic."

Petunia sneered at him. "I know that all too well, don't I? I was normally the victim of them before."

"You liked it!" Lily cried. "You would ask me to do little things like fix the lose threads on your dresses and I would do it for you!"

"Girls, that's enough," their father intoned. He looked a little embarrassed for having his children fight over something in front of guests.

Petunia and Lily glared at each other, but said nothing.

"So how was you're life with us?" Vernon asked curiously from the doorway. If Harry hadn't known better he would've said that Vernon looked kind and polite; like the perfect gentleman.

"Let's skip over that and get back to it at the end," Harry said quickly. "We'll watch the images instead of me telling the story." He really didn't want to tell the story. This was reluctantly accepted by the rest of them.

"So, about Hogwarts," the marauders brightened visibly.

Harry winced. "Not the most peaceful existence," he admitted reluctantly.

He went on to give them a brief overview of his Hogwarts years, ending with his final "duel" with Voldemort. It hadn't been much of a duel in his opinion; only two spells were used.

By the time he finished (with just the bare facts like that his first year he had saved the sorcerer's stone, and in second year he had killed a basilisk, mind you) he was beginning to think he should've just kept all this to himself and refused to tell James about it. Actually it might have been better to keep it from everyone, seeing as they were all looking rather shocked and horrified, not to mention the protective glint they were getting in their eyes.

"But the actual year leading up to all these adventures was quiet and pleasant, right?" Remus asked in a horrified voice.

Harry laughed loudly for a second, then suddenly stopped. "Oh, you were serious," he muttered. "Then, no, they were not peaceful."

This reaction wasn't reassuring at all.

"Maybe you should go into more detail," Brian suggested.

Harry cringed. "Do I have to?" he asked, remembering everything he had done over the years and how many _laws_ he had broken, let alone rules.

"Yes," Lily said firmly.

So Harry told them. He told them of all his many adventures at a Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Of three headed dogs and mirrors of desire. Of disembodied voices and dueling clubs. Of dementors and Sirius Black. Every last detail from every one of his years at Hogwarts.

Somewhere during the middle lunch was brought in and Harry picked at it again.

By the time he was done it was around two o'clock in the afternoon.

"That," Elisabeth finally managed after several seconds of the drop jawed silence that had followed the end of Harry's story, "has to be one of _thee most_ outrageous stories I've ever heard. And do you want to know the oddest thing about it? I believe every word."

There were nods all around. Until James suddenly spoke up. "I'm never letting you out of my sight," he said firmly as he loosened his somewhat painful grip on Harry's waist.

"I'm not _that_ troublesome," Harry protested with a pout.

"Yes you are!" everyone else said at the same time. Harry pouted some more.

"Now all that's left is the images," Sirius said.

"Can't we just…..skip them, or something?" Harry asked timidly, his naturally shy and quiet nature combining with the influence of being in his younger body again and the Dursleys insistence that he never tell anyone what went on in their house to create a very wary child.

Many eyes narrowed suspiciously, but James and Sirius seemed to be the most suspicious.

"You're acting like Sirius used to whenever I asked about his family," James said slowly.

"My home life wasn't great," Sirius reluctantly admitted to the Evans' confused looks. "That's why I'm always such a goof at school. I was never allowed to play around as a child, so I'm making up for it now. At least, that's what the counselor said. She said not to try and resist it, so I don't."

"I-I never knew," Lily said brokenly. "I'm always yelling at you about acting like a five year old, I never…I never," she stuttered to a stop.

"It's ok; I never wanted you to know," Sirius said surely. "I never wanted anyone to know. I wasn't even going to go see a counselor, but James found out, and from there it all just snowballed." Sirius grinned happily. "I moved in a few weeks ago," he said.

Harry hadn't known that was why Sirius had always acted so young, but supposed it made sense. Harry himself had never had a single chance to act like a child. He had always either been the house elf or the savior. Never just a child. He sincerely hoped he didn't start acting like a child now either.

"Well, I'm glad you got out of a bad situation," Brian said uncertainly.

"Thanks," Sirius said with a wide grin. "I was already spending most of my time at James' anyway."

"Very true," said Charles, "but I think we're straying from the original topic of discussion."

Harry's hopes that that would be forgotten went down the drain.

"No, Harry, we can't skip over the clips James said gently.

Harry winced but nodded. "Let me find the one from the earliest age," he said. James reluctantly allowed him to wriggle his way down to the floor and walk out of the room. All of them couldn't help but notice how he gave both Vernon and Petunia wide berths as he passed them. This did not seem to bode well for what they would see.

**And it's done! It did take me a long time, but this chapter was longer than I originally thought it was going to be. It's twelve pages and 3700 words. Yeah. That's 1000 words more then I normally write. **

**Elisa never said anything about the basilisk because she was kind of overwhelmed by the whole killing curse thing.**

**How do you feel about Hermione coming in? I have an idea for it, and I'm actually leaning towards it. I always thought she would be adorable as a little kid. She would have to stay with the Potters too because her parents are muggles and wouldn't understand if a daughter they never had suddenly popped up. However, if you like it better with just Harry's family I can keep that too.**

**If Harry is going to be paired with anyone it won't be for a very, very, **_**very**_** long time. a lot of people don't think it would really fit in this story though.**

**Anyway, I'm still open to any comments anyone has. This story will also never be abandoned. It will probably take me awhile to update (I just started high school and I have gymnastics for 4 hours a day) but I won't give up on it. thank you for all the great reviews and just for even reading this!**


	5. Chapter 5 Memories

I don't own Harry Potter.

**Any names in italics are the projection type things.**

Chapter 5 Memories

Harry found the memory with the youngest projection of himself on the front doorstep and hoped no one else had noticed. He made his way back to the living room with quick, nervous steps. He really didn't think his parents, grandparents and honorary uncles would react well to his home life. Oh well; it wasn't like there was anything he could do about it. Sigh.

Lily sat in her living room with James Potter, something she had always thought was impossible. He also wasn't being a prat, another thing she hadn't thought was possible. The thing that really took the cake, though, was that Sirius Black, notorious prankster, actually had a reason for the fact that he acted like a two year old.

All of this was mind boggling, but none of it was even close to the strangest thing that had happened that day. That title defiantly had to go to her future son, who had showed up at her house randomly in the middle of the summer. Yes, this was going down in history as the oddest day she had ever had. And to think it had been perfectly normal when she woke up.

She was distracted from her thoughts by said son reentering the room, looking very nervous and dejected. Her heart immediately went out to the little boy. This surprised her because she had never thought she could feel anything but hate for something that was part of James Potter.

She didn't even bother to pause and consider what she was doing before she swooped down and picked Harry up. She ran her free had through his hair soothingly as the other wrapped around his waist.

Surprise ran through his emerald eyes for a second before it was replaced by such joy that Lily was almost stunned. She thought Potter was right (for once) and that their son might not have grown up in the best conditions. Why else would he look so surprised and happy to be shown the small bit of affection she had given him?

"Did you find it?" her mother asked softly, as afraid to spook the boy or interrupt something private.

Harry gave a small nod. "It's on the doorstep," he replied.

The whole family got up and trooped out of the room to the door. As soon as they were all out on the front lawn the 3D images started moving.

Lily watched as the front door was opened by a much older version of her sister who had milk bottles in her hands. _Petunia _suddenly shrieked as she spotted the small bundle of blankets right in front of her. She swooped down and snatched the bundle before running back into the house, glancing behind her the whole way as though she was afraid someone was watching.

"_Vernon!"_ she called loudly as the real version of herself and the rest of the group followed her into the house. _"Vernon get down here!" _

The real version of Vernon seemed surprised at how rude she was.

"_What!"_ _Vernon _grunted as he made his way thunderously down the stairs.

"That's not _me_, is it?" real Vernon asked horrified. He probably couldn't imagine becoming that fat. Honestly Lily would probably kill herself before she allowed herself to get that much out of shape. Not that she was suicidal by any means, but still.

_Petunia_ violently tore a letter out of the bundle (which started crying) and roughly tore it open. She scanned the letter's contents for a few seconds, her face becoming more stormy the longer she read. As soon as _Vernon_ entered the room she thrust the letter at him with the instruction _"Read," _in a tight voice.

Vernon looked affronted, but his 3D counterpart simply grunted and scanned the letter.

"_What do you want to do with him?" _he asked. He looked down at the bundle and caught the baby's eye. His face softened and he softly picked up the still screaming bundle. He gently shushed baby _Harry _with soothing noises and gestures.

Harry's face went to absolute shock, his eyes opened as wide as they would go. Uncle Vernon had actually _cared_! It didn't matter that it had been for maybe five minutes right after Harry had arrived; just the fact that he cared in any sense at any time was stunning to Harry, who had always known him as a heartlessly cruel man.

_Petunia _slapped _Vernon_ and Vernon gave a cry of anger. _"Don't __**comfort**__ the little freak!" Petunia _yelled at him. _"Throw the thing in the closet!"_

The group of people watching gave cries of outrage. Harry winced, having heard the sentence many times and knowing nothing good ever came out of it. Lily was incensed at the small indication that Harry had heard this sentence before, but before she could say anything the projections continued.

"_But, Tunie," Vernon _tried, _"he's just a baby, we can't be sure he's going to be….freakish,_ _like his parents."_

_Petunia _gave him a look. _"That's how these things work Vernon. If the parents are freakish then the child will be freakish. Now go put it in the cupboard."_

They watched as _Vernon_ reluctantly walked out of the room and to the cupboard under the stairs.

"You were the one who insisted on that cupboard?" Harry asked in a very hurt whisper. "That's why I lived in that thing for ten years!" His face was set in an uncharacteristically ugly scowl. "I can't believe you." His voice was almost sad and disappointed.

Petunia turned to him with an ugly expression on her face. "Don't talk to me like that you little freak. I would've thought you would learn better as you got older. I guess all freaks are stupid though."

Lily stared at her sister in stunned betrayal. She had known Petunia didn't like her, but she had never thought it would run this deep.

A hand suddenly swung out of no where towards Harry, who flinched. The hand was caught in mid air just as Lily was giving a cry of surprise and twisting away.

She looked up to see that her father had her sister's hand in a tight grip and was speaking very sternly in her ear. Petunia's eyes got wide and scared. As soon as their father let go of her hand she scampered away up the stairs.

Brian Evans was practically steaming from anger; anyone could tell with a simple glance at him.

"I apologize for her again. I swear she will not be getting away with this, but now does not seem to be the best time," he said stiffly. Everyone else nodded, throwing anxious glances at Harry.

"Do you know where the next one is?" Sirius asked Harry. The little boy shook his head.

"I didn't look for it before. I think I saw another really small looking version of myself in the kitchen though," he added quietly.

Sure enough, when the family moved into the kitchen there were various projections all around the room. The youngest was a three year old Harry, standing by the stove and looking rather confused. He looked hardly bigger then in the last scene, but he seemed to be in much worse shape. His clothes were rather torn up with small spots of what looked like rust in a few places.

Petunia stood next to him with a severe and faintly annoyed expression.

The projections started moving .

"_You need to start earning your keep boy, and Vernon and I have found the perfect way for you to do it," Petunia_ informed the small boy nastily.

She thrust a heavy pan into the tiny boy's hands rather more forcefully then was needed.

"_Watch me closely and follow what I do. If you can't do it then can forget about food for the next week," Petunia_ instructed nastily.

_Harry's_ eyes widen considerably in panic. Lily caught Harry wincing and wondered at it. Her son (her _son_) ad been starved by her own sister! Someone was going to pay. Come to think of it, whoever put her son with her deranged sister was going to pay too.

The rest of the family was also not used to this kind of treatment towards their youngest and newest member, and was suitably outraged.

James seemed distraught and had wrapped an arm around Lily's waist. Lily wasn't complaining (for the first time in her life) because James didn't seem at all interested in the fact that he was touching her. He didn't even seem to notice. He was completely wrapped up in their son, running a hand through his hair and just generally comforting the poor child. Who was taking more comfort from it was hard to tell; James seemed to need the contact as much as Harry did.

Not that Lily blamed him, of course. There was no way come Hell or high water that she would let go of her son at this moment in time.

She knew both of them were going to have to sit down and talk sometime about how they were going to handle this, but right now wasn't the time to bring it.

"_Yes Aunt Petunia," _the voice of the little Harry brought them all back from their angered states enough to pay attention again.

_Petunia_ then proceeded to try to teach _Harry _to cook.

"Excuse me," Lily said in a voice of feigned calm, "I must be mistaken; I thought I just saw Petunia trying to teach you to cook."

"And failing," Harry said laughingly. "I'd forgotten I was ever that bad," he said as his younger self managed to burn water. This seemed to be a surprisingly easy feat for the three year old.

"What do you mean 'used to be'?" James asked. "She appears to be getting frustrated; surely she'll leave you alone and not try again."

"It isn't appropriate for children so young to be doing any house work beyond making their own beds," James's mother added.

"Oh she did leave me alone after I managed to pretty much ruin dinner. That doesn't mean she didn't try again the next day. And the one after. And the one after that. And every day until I finally managed to cook something edible. And then she had me cooking every meal until I was almost eleven," Harry answered.

"_You stupid boy!" Petunia _yelled, smacking the three year old around the head. _"You just ruined your Uncle's dinner! Go to your cupboard!" _she screeched.

The tiny boy whimpered and ran out the room, only to vanish at the doorway.

Outrage filled Lily. Her own sister had treated her son this way? And her own son had had to deal with it? And he hadn't come out a complete bastard? Lily could freely admit that if she had been raised that way she would not have turned out as well as her son seemed to have.

"If she was cooking something that needed to be eaten why did she have a three year old do it?" Rose asked, outraged. Where had she gone wrong with her first born?

"I quite honestly think Uncle Vernon told her to give him an excuse to punish me. I don't know why though; he never needed one as I got older," Harry answered nonchalantly, as though he had not just watched his three year old self get slapped around the head. Lily noticed that he _did_ look rather pale, though. She wondered if it had anything to do with his uncle.

Said uncle was looking utterly and completely shocked. "But…but I wouldn't do something like that, would I?" he asked unsurely. He looked somewhat devastated.

"Are you kidding me?" Harry snorted. "I used to think maybe you were put on earth by the devil to torment me for a terrible crime I had committed in a past life or something. There was just no way a human could be that cruel and heartless." His eyes took a vacant look that Lily didn't like.

Vernon hung his head in what seemed like shame, and the family moved to the next projection.

This one showed a tiny boy who looked the same age as the last one.

"I thought you said there was one for every year you were alive?" Remus half questioned.

"I did," Harry said, throwing Remus an odd look.

"Then why is this one still three?" Sirius asked.

"That one's _four_," Harry said, somewhat indignantly.

"Dude, do you grow _at all_?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Obviously, I'm bigger now then I was then," Harry explained with a grin in an overly patient voice.

"Just barely though," James said darkly. Their son could do nothing more then shrug, not being able to deny the truth in that statement.

And so they watched on. Watched trough _years _of horrible physical and mental abuse.

Harry flinched every time a particularly horrible insult flew from his aunt, uncle, or cousin.

They watched through his first Hogwarts letter and his blowing up of "Aunt" Marge. There were roars of outrage from all present at the insults spewing from the horrible woman's mouth.

They watched his uncle wish for him to receive the death penalty. At this point Vernon excused himself to throw up and then go home. He asked Brian to tell Petunia that he wouldn't be back; he didn't like what she turned him into.

The final memory was of Harry departing the house for the last time at seventeen years old.

The last memory fell silent and faded away, leaving them in stunned and horrified silence.

Harry could only wait for the fall out he was sure would soon occur.

**I'm sorry this took so long, but I got behind in my school. I got sick and literally slept for a week. That put me a week behind in school.**

**So; Vernon. I was originally going to have Petunia putting him under a compulsion potion, but I decided against it. It didn't fit with cannon. But I still wanted him to be punished, so I made him an actual human being who is disgusted by what his future self did to an innocent child.**

**Petunia's punishment was to lose the man she had meant to marry. Plus I doubt her father will be exactly pleased, not to mention her sister. I'm currently trying to find a suitable punishment for her. I was thinking her father should disown her and leave her on the streets, but I think that's kind of extreme for what she's done in the current time. Ideas are welcome. **

**I'm so grateful for all the wonderful support in this story. I really do love it myself. That's how I always tell if I wrote something well. I write it, wait a few days, and then read it again. If I wrote it well it will hold my attention and when I get to the end I'll be going, "wait, that's it?"**

**This wasn't my favorite chapter. I had some trouble writing it, so any comments would be doubly appreciated. **


End file.
